The Icom IC-40s 5-watt hand-held radios worked well during my field work last February. I recommend them for any remote-area field work where you need to keep in contact with others up to 5 km away (provided your in relatively flat terrain). Therefore, my experiences are similar to those outlined by Warren & Phil.

I also needed to stay in radio contact with construction workers all the time I was on or near the construction site for another project recently. It was stated explicitly in the site induction session that the use of cheap walkie talkies ("the sort you buy at Dick Smiths', according to the chap running the session) were not acceptable for use on the construction site.

Thanks to Phil, Warren & Jason for advice.

I finally settled on a pair of Icom IC-40s 5-watt hand-held radios (40 channels). I'll have a chance to test them out in mid-February, so I'll let the discussion forum know how they perform. Not cheap (as Phil says), but I think with equipment like this you pay for what you get.

Hi Stephen,

Dont be taken in by "cheapies" as Warren has suggested. I purchased a pair of Icom IC-40S UHF machines and they do well in varied terrain and come with a lapel mike, which I have found very handy, The total cost was in the region of $800 but was well worth it for the functional usefulness of these machines. On a property',  in mallee country out west, I have logged a message from 8.5kms, perfectly clearly. The Icom machines have a "battery save" function as well and if your message is not acknowledged in a preset no of seconds, your sender/receiver goes into battery saver mode, until the next signal is identified. I found I could get nearly 7 hours out in the field, before signal fade occurred.

don't by cheap radios because the receivers and transmitters will be cheap! 5w is about the best you will get for UHF. Also, you probably need to consider the topography of the site you will be working on. UHF radio is generally line of site so in flat areas the range would be generally be greater. On the other hand, if you where working on a site that had steep gullies etc you might find that you can't talk to someone that is only 100m away.

Hi Stephen, I had to get a set to do work on tree clearing monitoring for the RTA so I could inform the foreman I was on site, leaving, etc. I checked Supercheap and Dick Smiths to see price for function and value, then checked out my good friend Ebay.

From memory, the more wattage, the more range, and for a rule of thumb, I think price goes up about $50 per 0.5W ie doubles with every Watt. A 2w or greater appears to be a big walkie talkie ie easily do 5km. I bought a GME TX650 - a pair for $96 off Ebay - new. They retail for at least $160, tho I think I saw the same pair (they come in a set in a recharge base - battery is built in not rechargable AA that the similar Uniden one has at DS) at BCF for nearly $300. These ones are 1W with a duplex function which means you can bounce off radio towers to increase your range, or drop to 0.5w to conserve power. They also have heaps of features most of which I probably wont use. They are lighter than a mobile phone and have a strap you can flick around your neck and that flat (like half a deck of playing cards) radio sits in your shirt pocket (yes, you look like a rock bands' roadie). Do a google search and you will find forums discussing this issue (I did) and even pick up a model, or simply check Ebay, and google the model for comments.

Can anyone recommend a reliable type of hand-held walkie talkie radio for use in remote field locations where there is no mobile phone coverage? Radio sets would be used for communication between field workers up to 5 km apart. I'm looking for a walkie talkie that provides excellent reception (obviously), reasonably long battery life and is lightweight (able to be carried in one hand). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.